Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by micmillon18:

Possibly my new favorite brewery. Had this one previously, thought I'd actually review it this time. Poured from a bomber into a pint glass. Labeled as Batch Four, bottled December of 2009.

A - Poured a thick, creamy beige colored three finger head. Lots of lacing around the glass. Head subsided slowly after I took my first sip. Very dark reddish brown; almost mahogany in some areas where the light is able to shine through the glass.

T - Roasted barely, nuts and coffee are present. The taste of dark chocolate is there, really delicious and this is from someone who doesn't like dark chocolate. It seems to mix well with the other flavors, creating a sort of roasted chocolaty, coffee goodness with a nutty undertone, if that even makes sense by anyone else's logic. It ends with a nice hoppy bitterness that adds to its complexity, rounding out the great flavor.

M - Very smooth and clean, one of the bests I've had in terms of the style. It knows how to stay on the pallet just long enough to keep you wanting more without becoming too present.

D - Definitely something thats great to sip on a chilly Autumn night. The rich, malty flavors made for a real treat, almost warming in fact. The bottle was easily finished. Another great from Pretty Things.

More User Reviews:

A - This beer pours dark brown with ruby highlights when held to the light. A semi aggressive pours yields about three inches of tan head.

S - I smell some cocoa, along with earthy, nutty aromas.

T - The taste has those earthy, nutty flavors that make English browns great. With hints of cocoa it is a nice representation of the flavors of this style.

M - Medium towards full.

O - I like the comforting earthy qualities of this beer. While I find it a good example of the style, I still think I would pick a Sam Smith's Nut Brown over this. But, this will definitely slake my thirst of the style.

My first Pretty Things beer and man was I impressed.Poured a deep roasted chesnut brown with amber highlights showing thru,a 1/2 finger tannish colored head atop,malt lovers rejoice from there.Brown sugar,molasses,roasted walnuts,and chocolate all over the place,great malt complexity in a "small" beer.Roasted nuts and cakey flavors at the onset with molasses sweetness coming into play,again great malt complexity.I put limits on certain styles of beer because Iam a hophead who likes extreme beers,this wowed me being an English Brown wich I think has never happened,a great beer.

Bottled dec 2009Batch 4In a pint glass a red/brown color with a thick tan head that left some lacing.Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, and some spice.Caramel chocolate taste, a bit of cinnamon.This was a very smooth beer, very drinkable. I wish I could find this in Maine.

Dark chestnut brown color, good lacing all around. Smells of toasted almond bread, faint chicory and a mild raisin/brown sugar note in the back. Big smoothness with a lush malty medium body. Toasty malt character with undertones of dark brown sugar, raisins, toasted bread crust and some dried hay in the finish. Modest hopping here, hint of herbal flare helps to balance. Mineral and fruit in the middle, hint of nutty yeast as well. Just a slight edge of char throughout. Lands semi-dry with a kiss of residual maltiness in the after taste.

Balance is seen across the board here, event the level of charred grain is perfect. Not massive or in your face yet this is of demi-epic material. Love it.

Typical Pretty Things arty and neat-o presentation, with the thin label strip over the cap, "Bottled April 2009 Batch two" Pours darker amber, medium brown, robust and retentive light mocha head, then thick film, a mottled ringed collar and finally respectable lace. Nose is yeasty and bready, with sweet malt notes just below the surface. Chocolaty brown. Sweet malt, powdered sugar, dusty dark chocolate, toffee, all come to mind. Creamy and luxorious mouthfeel, smooth as can be all the way to the finish. Very tasty and pleasurable brown ale. More quality and quite "artisanal" suds from the PT beer and ale project.

A: Poured into a Samuel Adams glass. Dark brown with a big and persistent creamy head that left lace on the glass.

S: Roasted malt aroma, grassy

T: Very malty, big English ale flavor, some sweetness, very hearty

M: Long flavor that morphs from sweet to deep coffee follow.

This beer is a surprise. I bought it because I'd tasted two of their beers a while back and had liked them; but I was really just guessing on what it would be like, memory of beer after tasting so many being what it is. It is an excellent, full-flavored beer, something I'm always looking for these days, having tired of the massive overhopping of American craft beers. This is a beer with a strong malt profile, more aggressive in its flavoring than most of the English ales it takes as its progenitors. Were I drinking it in a pub with lots of beers, I'd be ordering it over and over again.

Batch Four, bottled December 2009Dark brown, not quite opaque wth streams of fine bubbles rising up through the dark liquid to a one inch head of high and frothy dimpled foam.

Low aroma of toasty malt and dark cereal, some pumpernickel and fig.

Flavors of toasted malt, understated cocoa, leather and mild smoke, plus some dried leaves and dark fruits. Smokiness increases in the finish. No one flavor dominates, very balanced. Gets more interesting as it warms. Notes of port emerge.

Full mouthfeel, a little tingly, finishes a bit tannic. Tasty and drinkable, good beer.

Enjoyed a pint of Pretty Things' Brown Ale, Saint Botolph's Town, at Cambridge-area beer bar Lord Hobo (great place to have drinks!). St. Botolph's Town came in a Pretty Things goblet (generous pour). Review is from notes.

Appearance (4/5): Saint Botolph's Town is–surprise, surprise–a dark brown colored ale. It is topped by a one-finger head of creamy beige foam. It features some nice ruby highlights when held up to the light and lots of sticky, soapy lacing shows on the sides of the glass as you drink.

Smell (4.5/5): SBT's nose is characterized by great brown ale notes: quite nutty, a little roasty, and malty, you'd know instantly in a blind taste test that this baby's a brown. It has an earthy edge to it that I find quite nice. Some dark bread notes can be detected as well. A little musty–and not in a bad way. This is one fine smelling brown. Lots of character!

Taste (4/5): SBT's flavor follows the nose. This beer is pretty much a malt fest from the get-go, though herbal noble hops do an admirable job of balancing and drying this one out in the finish. It is quite an earthy beer and it displays a relatively complex flavor profile (relative to many browns) in which nutty, roasty, grainy, and bready notes come out. Rich, rustic, deep–three words that describe SBT's taste very well. I would have liked this brown to be a tad bit sweeter, but can't say that this is a major sticking point.

Mouthfeel (4.5/5): Saint Botolph's Town features a full, creamy body, medium carbonation, and an exceptionally dry, bitter finish. This last quality is what, in my mind, makes SBT stand out among the crowd. Drinkability is high– the dry, bitter finish brings a quenching quality to the beer that one might think strange in a beer this dark, roasty, and full-bodied.

Overall (4/5): Pretty Things' Saint Botolph's Town is a solid brown ale, one that I think is pretty unique in its hoppy dryness and rustic earthy tones. While I favor Dogfish Head's Indian Brown, this is also a very good American interpretation of a traditional English style. Perhaps not the best Pretty Things beer, but a good choice as the seasons change and the cool fall air settles in.